How to Move (Almost) Everything from a Wallet to Your Phone
Smartphones are becoming a daily necessity, storing our data while also offering internet and calling capabilities. They also help make life easier by accessing things like money and insurance cards in a seamless way.
Since almost every business seems to have a digital card reader, it’s good to have both physical and digital copies of your wallet’s contents. We’ll take you through the best items to move from your wallet to your phone.
Before You Begin
While it may seem like an excellent idea to transfer your entire wallet to your phone, there are some things you should first consider. Most important is the fact that not all organizations and institutions accept digital copies.
For instance, insurance cards and IDs must be in physical form for things like government business, court filings, police and other similar situations. This is also true for some doctor’s offices, physical therapists and other healthcare circumstances.
This takes us to the second point: privacy. Certain information and documentation contains sensitive data about you and your life. You have to evaluate how much you want exposed to nefarious hackers and other unwanted intruders.
Transfer from Wallet to Phone
The following checklist is a mere guideline. Prioritize it according to what you value and find most important.
Money
While cash is still king, there really is no way to keep it on your phone. However, you may want to sign onto the mobile payment systems offered by most smartphone companies. These use Near-Field Communications (NFC) technologies to allow for payments through a contactless card machine. The pitfall, though, is that you run the risk of encountering hackers.
Business Cards
Busy professionals distribute and collect myriads of business cards. If this is you, one of the best things about your phone is that you can keep all of them in one convenient place.
Whether yours or another’s business card, take a photo of it and create a special file in your Photos app or download any one of a number of rolodex apps. However, most smartphones have the ability to scan an image and create a text copy of it, which then goes into your contacts.
The only warning here is to educate yourself about the privacy policies of all apps on your phone. Some will be able to access this information, which leaves your business and networking contacts vulnerable to an attack.
Access ; Transit Passes
If you use public transportation or live/work at a place requiring a card, you can transfer these to your phone. This can make it easier to renew transit payments or update access card photos.
For instance, in places like Chicago or NYC, you can link payment to your device’s wallet while also using your phone to get on the subway or bus. The smartphone’s built-in chip will trigger payment as you enter.
Insurance
Auto, health and other insurance cards are ideal to store on your phone. While you should always also carry hard copies of these, having a digital version is ideal. This is especially true in the case of an emergency.
Shopping Cards
If you’re like most people, your wallet burgeons with more loyalty and rewards cards than you know what to do with. What’s more, some shopaholics collect gift cards the way a dog collects bones. For either of these situations, putting them on your smartphone is the best way to stay organized.
Several apps are available for managing multitudes of such cards all in one place. Some will notify you when your rewards points or gift cards expire or run out as well.
Receipts
If you need to keep and organize your receipts, transferring them to your smartphone is an intelligent choice. This is handy at tax time. Not only will you have everything available and organized but you’ll also be able to pull it up quickly.
You have many options to do this. You can take a snapshot of the receipt and store it in a special file on your phone, which is the lowest cost option. But, for those who deal in many receipts, it’s better to invest in an expenses app.